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Preschool
When I started preschool I only knew Spanish. I had two teachers, one of them only spoke English and the other was Bilingual. I always found myself going to Mrs. Franco when I needed something because I felt comfortable around her. Although she helped me as much as she could, she always pushed me to speak and learn English. -
Kindergarten
In Kindergarten I got a Hispanic teacher that made an immense difference in my life. Mrs. Alcantar was the teacher that taught me how to read. She never gave up on me and her goal for me to leave her class reading. -
1st Grade
In First grade I was introduced to ELD (English Language Development). Everyday for about 30 minutes, the entire 1st grade went with a different 1st grade teacher depending on their reading level. I was too young to understand what level I was in, but I remember being with children who weren't that fluent in English. -
2nd Grade
My second grade teacher saw a lot of potential in me. I found myself reading more challenging books, but I didn't quite enjoy it. There was a certain book that caught my attention and my teacher had me take one home every week to read. It was "The Magic Tree House." I will never forget that I felt so special because she always let me take one of those books home from the collection. I loved to read them. -
3rd Grade Graduating from ELD
In the 3rd grade I was recognized for reading at a 5th grade level. There was an assembly for students like me that no longer had to take ELD classes. It was an exciting moment! -
3rd Grade Part 2
I was invited to an after school program where I was taking a class about books. Here many students at my level discussed about the different books we read and kept track on a worksheet. It was kind of a reading club. At this point in life, I was beginning to read a lot more. -
4th Grade & AR Reading
In Fourth Grade I was introduced to AR Reading which is short for Accelerated Reader. AR reading is a program that allows for students to read books from their school library and then take a test. I took this very serious and I got the most AR points from the rest of the 4th graders. -
5th Grade
In 5th grade, I was invited by my second grade teacher to take 15 minutes of my science class to go read with a student who had a hard time reading in her class. This student was always happy to see me and we enjoyed reading together. I was part of her reading development and it made me happy. This is when I knew that I was finally considered to be a fluent English speaker. -
Middle School/High School
Through out middle school and high school, I was in the advanced English classes because of my reading and comprehension levels. I was able to do this because of the support I had from my 6th grade teacher. She pushed me to continue to challenge myself. In 7th grade, I got a perfect score in the Reading CST (California Standardized Test). -
College
After taking a couple education classes, I have come across many audible books, libraries, and resources that I wish I had to my advantage. It makes me happy that now there are many resources for students who didn't have it easy when they were developing their reading development. I can now make a difference in other student's lives!
